A resident of a nearby subdivision called police at 3:28 p.m. to report that a man had been camping on the mountain behind his house for the previous month, a violation of local regulations.
A police officer with crisis intervention training testified that he had made some progress with Boyd, but that his supervisor pulled him off and sent him to secure the perimeter of the standoff location.
When he did not respond to commands to drop the knives, another officer fired three beanbag shotgun rounds which struck his buttock and the police dog was again sent to bite him.
[6] Boyd arrived at the University of New Mexico Hospital emergency room at 8:15 p.m., underwent extensive surgery, and was pronounced dead of massive trauma at 2:55 a.m. the next morning.
A preliminary hearing was held in August 2015, and the trial of two police officers charged with second-degree murder in Boyd's death began on September 20, 2016.
In February 2017, Raúl Torrez, the Bernalillo County District Attorney, after having several prosecutors around the state review the case, announced that he would not refile charges against Officers Sandy or Perez.
Boyd had been arrested trying to enter Holloman Air Force Base, claiming he was on a mission from former President Gerald Ford that involved national security.
He says that, after Boyd's release, the man began to identify as "Abba Mobus Abadon," a name derived from "God" and the Hebrew word for "a bottomless pit".
"[31] Two hours before the shooting, officer Keith Sandy encountered New Mexico State Police Sergeant Chris Ware on Piedra Vista, the street closest to Boyd's campsite.
[31] Some initially thought his remark was evidence of intent to shoot Boyd, but Ware said that Sandy was referring to using a Taser shotgun when they were talking.
[38] At one point crisis intervention officer Mikal Monette was able to talk Boyd into surrendering, but as he was gathering his belongings he was told he could not bring his knives.
In a deposition for the civil rights lawsuit brought by Boyd's family, Weimerskirch said he believed the dog might have been shocked by a Taser probe.
Officers Sandy and Perez both testified at their trial that they thought that Boyd presented an imminent deadly threat to Weimerskirch, the dog handler.
[40][49][50][51][52] Forensic pathologist Sam Andrews, a prosecution expert witness, testified at the preliminary hearing that Boyd died from gunshot wounds and sheer loss of blood.
[64] On January 12, 2015, the Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg charged Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez with an open count of murder.
He called the prosecution "misguided" and added that he hopes the DA's office will look at the "weak jury support" and will "let these two good men get on with their lives.
[85] State Attorney-General Hector Balderas agreed after he investigated that there was no evidence of wrongdoing, although he did say that she should have asked for a special prosecutor to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
[90] At the preliminary hearing, District Court Judge Neil Candelaria dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charges, saying they were not appropriate in this case, which seemed "more of intentional and I haven't heard much of anything unintentional.
He testified at trial that an APD sergeant removed him from the bargaining process,[96] replacing him with Detective Sandy and others shortly before Boyd was mortally wounded.
[98] In June 2014, the brother of James Boyd, Andrew Jones, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Albuquerque Police Department.
The lawsuit asked that the city and the police department put in place given corrective measures including better training for law enforcement officers in how to deal with individuals suffering from mental illness, requiring all officers be trained in crisis intervention, that anyone "subjected to force" during any encounter with the Albuquerque Police Department be given prompt medical attention, and that the city establish a fund called the "James Matthew Boyd Emergency Outreach Team" which would provide resources for local doctors and others to help people who are homeless and experiencing a mental health crisis.
[2] The U.S. Department of Justice released a scathing report on April 10, 2014, saying Albuquerque's Police Department "engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force during the course of arrests and other detentions in violation of the Fourth Amendment ... Albuquerque police officers often use deadly force in circumstances where there is no imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm to officers or others."
[100] The report did not investigate the Boyd shooting, which happened shortly before its release, but said Chief Eden's comments about it as an example of systemic problems in the APD.
[101] "The recent remarks by the police chief in response to the James Boyd shooting on March 16, 2014, demonstrate that more work is needed to change the culture of APD," it said.
[103] "Police shootings have dropped since the DOJ Report was released and the APD instituted changes in policy and training to conform to the consent decree."
He testified at trial that an APD sergeant removed him from the bargaining process,[113] replacing him with Detective Sandy and others shortly before Boyd was mortally wounded.
[115][116] On the three-month anniversary of Boyd's death, a group of people held a vigil at his campsite in his honor, singing Amazing Grace and vowing to improve the lives of the homeless and the mentally ill in Albuquerque.
A key finding of its April 2014 report was that "the Albuquerque Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of unreasonable use of deadly force in officers' use of firearms.
[121] On March 25, 2014, the same day as a protest over the shooting of Boyd, APD police officers shot and killed Alfred Redwine, saying that he had discharged a firearm.
The detective in that case jumped over a garden wall and shot a mentally ill man named Christopher Torres in his parents' backyard.